Becoming Perfect Before the End

At the company's headquarters, news spread quickly that I had brought Yvonne to the board meeting and announced that I was transferring my shares to her.

"Kathleen, are you serious?" Harrison Diaz, one of the senior board members, asked as he pulled me aside.

"I'm completely serious," I replied as I signed my name on the documents. "From today onward, Yvonne will represent me in all company decisions."

Yvonne trembled with excitement, though she did her best to look muted. "Kathleen, I—I don't know what to say!"

I handed her the documents and said, "You don't have to say anything. Just do a good job."

On the way home, her mask finally slipped. She asked, "Kathleen, why are you doing this?"

"Because this is what you wanted, isn't it?" I leaned my head against the car window. "My husband, my daughter, my fortune... Yvonne, you've won."

"Kathleen, I—"

"Promise me one thing," I said, cutting her off. "At least keep pretending for Candice. She's still a child, and she needs a complete family."

That evening, I sat alone in the study, sorting my things. Just then, Annie Stewart, my attending nurse, came in.

Her eyes welled up with tears when she saw me and mumbled, "Mrs. Liddell..."

"Burn all of it." I pointed to the pile of documents on the desk—everything I had gathered on Yvonne's crimes.

"But Mrs. Liddell, with this evidence, we could—"

I wiped my tears. "Candice needs a mother... Even if that person isn't me."

On the morning of my final day, I could barely get out of bed. The cancer had spread throughout my body, and every breath was agonizing. I looked at myself in the mirror—pale, gaunt, with sunken eyes.

"Twenty-four hours left," I told myself.

Today was Bowen and Yvonne's engagement party. Yes, they could not wait any longer. I forced myself downstairs, where the living room had been completely redecorated.

Yvonne wore a champagne-colored gown and directed the staff as they arranged flowers.

"Kathleen."

I turned around to see my parents walking in. They were dressed in their finest clothes, and my mom even wore my grandmother's sapphire necklace, which I was supposed to inherit.

"Kathleen, well done. You've finally come to your senses! You've been competing with Yve all these years, and your dad and I have been so worried." My mom beamed with a kind smile.

My dad nodded. "That's right. Yve has been sweet and obedient since she was little, unlike you, always so headstrong. Now you've finally learned how to be a big sister."

I watched their joyful expressions as my heart broke into pieces. No matter how accomplished I was, I could never measure up to sweet Yvonne in their eyes.

I turned and walked away, unable to listen anymore.

The party started at 7 p.m., packed with guests—all the elite of New Aeravale society. They were all surprised to see me there. After all, attending one's husband's engagement party to another woman required quite a bit of grace.

"Kathleen, you actually came." Bowen approached me, his handsome face showing complex emotions.

"I told you I would." I raised a glass of champagne. "Congratulations."

"Kathleen..." He seemed like he wanted to say something, but Yvonne walked over with her arm linked through his.

"Kathleen, thank you for coming." She smiled sweetly, the diamond ring on her left hand sparkling—it was the Liddell family heirloom, the one that was once mine.

Bowen raised his glass. "Ladies and gentlemen, thank you all for coming to celebrate Yve's and my engagement party. I especially want to thank...Kathleen, for her grace and blessing.

Applause thundered through the room. I raised my glass and toasted from afar.

"I also want to thank my sister, Kathleen," Yvonne said with tears in her eyes. "She gave me everything—family, love, and now...even the chance to have true love. I'm the luckiest woman in the world."

I looked up at the couple on stage and felt nothing but coldness inside.